FarmVille: Zynga boosts News Feed collection limit to 200

After releasing a new item collection limit in FarmVille to stop those players who choose to use automatic bonus collection applications, Zynga faced a lot of heat from its userbase, with both players that use said automatic collectors, and even those that don't, stating that the limit simply wasn't fair. The general consensus was: Why punish the entire group for the acts of just a few? This was only exacerbated by the fact that a new throttle was also introduced, slowing all players (even those who were playing the game entirely on their own) in their bonus collection, so that we now have to wait a few seconds before collecting another item, for fear of being hit with the throttle for the rest of the day (which slows you down even further, potentially causing you to miss free items altogether).

At the time, the item limit was placed at 125 items per day, but due to player suggestions ("outrage" seems like a more appropriate word), Zynga has announced a change to the limit on the official FarmVille forums, to increase the number of bonuses players can claim each day. No, this doesn't get rid of the limit entirely, but we are now able to claim 200 items, rather than the original 125. Community Manager Stumpgrinder posted:

Based on your feedback we've made multiple adjustments to the throttling and item limit systems and we will continue to do so as we examine the data. A further adjustment we've decided to make is that we have increased the maximum number of items that can be collected from the feed on a daily basis from 125 to 200, effective immediately. With this increase we believe we have achieved a very good balance for all of our players from this point onward.

Stumpgrinder adds that if users who aren't using automated programs still feel they are being unfairly limited in their item collection, they should post their continued feedback on the forums.

It seems like it was only a matter of time before Zynga simply had to increase the limit on users, for fear of losing agitated players altogether. Whether you use an automated collection program or not, the simple idea of not being able to take advantage of all of the free items that Zynga highly encourages, or even sometimes forces you to post simply doesn't make sense. We can understand Zynga's frustration, though, and hope that they continue to take this matter seriously into the future.

What do you think of the increased item limit? Have you already reached it, or does this finally give you a chance to collect each and every item your friends post? Let us know in the comments.